Spirit
This page is for the heroic G.I. Joe. For his evil Shattered Glass counterpart, see Tomahawk (SG). SPIRIT was born in New Mexico to a Native American family so far below the poverty line that they never realized they were poor. He tuned in to nature at a very young age and was a hunting guide throughout high school. Following his graduation he joined the army and served in Southeast Asia in scout patrols. After being discharged he returned home to complete his education. He eventually returned to the service and was chosen for the G.I. Joe team. Spirit has senses so keen he appears able to communicate with animals. Actually, he observes their behavior and can tell when something is out of the ordinary. He has been known to sense when something 'feels' wrong around him, as well – again, attributed to mysticism but is in actuality the result of years of training to increase his alertness and situational awareness. He is a Qualified Expert in the M-16, M-1911A1 Auto Pistol, and Remington sniper rifle. He is also proficient in psychology, his secondary military specialty focused in social services. The insight it gives him into how his quarry thinks and moves contributes to his image as an implacable tracker. "Charlie is a Shaman, a medicine man. He's not a healer or a priest or a witch doctor. There isn't any equivalent in our culture for what he is unless we had shrinks that could actually help people." History Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History: A Native American born into poverty, Charlie "Spirit" Iron-Knife was raised to respect nature and had an innate connection to it, in the tradition of his ancestors. His parents were good folks, but they died young, and Spirit was adopted by a brain surgeon, Javier, and Javier's wife, Ingrid. They did what they could to make sure Spirit didn't lose his heritage and culture. While in high school, Spirit worked as a hunting guide to earn extra money for his family, putting his skills as a tracker to good use. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army and was soon sent to Southeast Asia, where he served in a Long Range Recon Patrol unit. In the Army, Spirit also became a qualified sniper. After returning home he completed his education, getting a degree in psychology from UNM. He also became a Shaman, learning the art of what those outside his culture would call holistic healing. He then reenlisted, eventually being recruited for the G.I. Joe team. In his first mission for the Joe team, Spirit joined Airborne on a mission to keep an eye on Snake-Eyes' cabin in the High Sierras, where the commando was on leave. Hawk had assigned them the mission without telling Snake-Eyes about it, though he spotted the Joes from miles away in the wilderness. Hawk's instincts were proved correct when the cabin was attacked by Destro, Firefly and Crimson Guardsman Fred Broca (Fred I). Spirit and Airborne came to the rescue and engaged in a fierce firefight with the Cobra agents. In the fight, Spirit fatally shot Fred, and both he and Airborne were wounded. While recuperating from his injuries, Spirit ignored orders for bed-rest and asked Ripcord and Gung-Ho to take him to the Staten Island mall, where he hoped to by various plants and herbs to help in the healing process. At the mall, Spirit was shocked to see a man who looked just like Fred shopping with his family. The Joes later learned it was Fred II -- the original Fred's surgically-altered, identical replacement -- after a freeway chase and firefight. Spirit continued to serve on many more missions for the Joe team. His teammates learned that their first impression of Spirit as a stoic, imposing mystic was not completely accurate. Those who got to know him discovered he was a loyal friend, and had a dry sense of humor that made it difficult to know whether he was joking or not. Spirit joined Flint, Quick Kick and Alpine on a mission to Cobra Island to rescue Ripcord. In reality, it was a disguised Zartan that they helped get off the island, and Spirit noticed something was amiss -- the hole in Ripcord's uniform (being worn by Zartan) did not match up with the wound underneath. Shortly after, the Joes invaded the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. Spirit, known to be one of the most stealthy of the Joes, was part of the small team that landed first to cut off power and communications. In the battle's aftermath, the Joes were placed on suspension. Spirit was the first Joe to spot Cobra troops planning an assault on the Pit, shortly before the Joe headquarters was destroyed to stop Cobra from gaining control of it. Once the Joes set up a new secret underground base in Utah, Spirit was a fixture at the base. Visitors who arrived at the simple Quonset hut that sat atop the base would often find a solitary Native American sitting cross-legged on a small rug and meditating. Beneath Spirit was the trap door leading to the Pit III below. Spirit was part of a small team of Joes sent on a recon mission into Cobra Island. The mission soon changed when the Joes invaded the island during Cobra's civil war, and Spirit and the other Joes were ordered to take over Cobra's airfield control tower. Spirit sensed that the team was being followed and captured fishing boat Captain Minh, who helped the team reach their objective. When Destro's forces arrived, the team was forced into the sluice tunnels below the airfield. The Joes eventually came out on the losing side of the war thanks to a last minute deal. The corrupt generals who had planned the mission blamed the embarrassment on Hawk and arrested he and many of the Joes, including Spirit. The Joes were eventually cleared and Spirit returned to duty. Years after the end of the civil war, Spirit and his friend Mutt (and Junkyard) took some time off and visited Mutt's uncle in Millville, a rundown town that was coincidentally about to be invaded by Cobra. Mutt and Spirit escaped capture and helped start an underground movement to fight Cobra. They found themselves fighting the townspeople, who had been brainwashed by Cobra. When the Joes made their final attack, they realized that Cobra had quickly "un-brainwashed" the people and got out of sight. Hawk and Law arrived with no choice but to arrest Spirit and Mutt for the attacks they organized in the seemingly normal town. The two Joes were able to stay out of jail while the matter was being investigated, but still faced serious charges. Both Spirit and Mutt were allowed back on duty when the Joes finally discovered that Cobra was controlling Millville, and a major battle took place in the town. By battle's end, Millville was liberated by the Joe team and Spirit and Mutt were cleared of all charges. Not long after, in 1994, the Joe team was shut down and the Pit was closed. MUX History: Spirit returned to the team when it was Reinstated in 1997. In 2009 and -10, Spirit headed the search for Cobra Commander, assisted closely by Temera. In 2013, Spirit was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant (2LT). He's currently assigned out of the Pit. In 2016, Spirit was promoted to 1st Lieutenant (1LT). In 2017, Spirit was assigned to Strike Team Charlie. In 2018, Spirit was promoted to Captain. Freedom: An American bald eagle who was occasionally the companion of G.I. Joe team member, Spirit. Many observed that Spirit seemed to communicate with Freedom. OOC Notes * Spirit's totem animal is Honey Badger. That's why he don't care. According to doomflower, anyway. *Even though it's mandatory that men serving in the military cut their hair short, Spirit has long hair. This is likely due to the fact that members of Delta anti-terrorist units are given greater leeway in personal appearance since they often have to go undercover, and "military" haircuts would be a dead giveaway that they were US Army personnel. The non-standard haircuts and facial hair restrictions for Delta anti-terrorist operatives were discussed in Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden Logs 2009 * September 07 - Big Water - Blaster takes Snoop to Florida to see Big Water... in the form of an incoming tsunami! 2017 * September 16 - "Another Session" - Angel goes back into the Memory Monitor. Category:2009 Players Spirit is usually temped by Bzero. In September of 2017, he was played by double0snake. In 2019, he was taken back over by Bzero. Gallery Spirit1.jpg Spirit2.jpg Spirit3.gif Spirit4.gif Spirit5.jpg Spirit6.jpg Freedom1.jpg|Freedom in flight freedom2.jpg|Freedom in flight References * G.I. Joe Comics Home Page: Spirit * Action Figure @ YoJoe.com ---- Category:Characters Category:GI Joe Category:FCs Category:GI Joe trackers Category:Humans Category:US Army Category:Slaughter's Marauders Category:Air Commandos